


Torn Apart

by Kyarorain



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-31
Updated: 2011-03-31
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:38:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/175984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyarorain/pseuds/Kyarorain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paul wants to have Ash by his side. To do that, he takes away something precious to Ash. One-sided Comashipping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Torn Apart

Torn Apart

x-o-x-o-x

Writing about Paul being a giant douche is fun. Giving Ash angst is also fun. Poor Ash...

Contains violence and some scary stuff.

Nintendo and Game Freak own Pokémon.

x-o-x-o-x

Ash watched Paul's back with a mildly confused expression as he followed him. His rival had come up to him and asked that they speak alone. It looked as if something was bothering him greatly. This was especially strange seeing as Paul rarely bothered to so much as give Ash the time of day and was more likely to ignore him completely unless the subject of a battle came up. Still, Ash wasn't going to refuse his request. Despite the fact Paul constantly belittled him and didn't seem to think much of him, he tolerated him and hoped they could someday become actual friends. If this was a step closer in that direction, then he would gladly take it.

They had been walking for quite a while now and were probably quite far from the road where Brock and Dawn were waiting now. Ash decided to speak up. "Um, Paul, do we really need to walk so far? Couldn't we just talk here?"

Paul stopped and stood still, silently staring into the distance for a while. He drew in breath and slowly exhaled before turning around and facing Ash with a serious look on his face. "I want to know something, Ash. How exactly do you feel about me?"

Ash blinked, feeling bewildered by the strange question that had come out of the blue. "How do I feel about you?" he repeated dumbly. "Well, I don't... dislike you. If you wanted to be friends, I would be fine with that. Do you?" Somehow, he wasn't so sure Paul wanted to be friends. If he did, then why would he be constantly putting him down?

"I see." Paul didn't speak for a short while, staring thoughtfully at Ash. "I know that I've been a bit cold to you and I wouldn't have been surprised if you didn't like me after everything that's happened."

"Why?" Ash asked. "Why have you been acting like such a jerk toward me?"

"Hmph. I suppose that I was trying to push you away. Fat lot of good that did, didn't it?" Paul's mouth twitched. "It's no good though. I just end up wanting you even more."

"Eh?" Ash frowned, wondering if he had heard that last sentence right. Surely he had misheard or maybe Paul simply meant as a friend. Still, when someone said they wanted another, it was usually in the romantic sense, wasn't it? "Uh, what do you mean?"

"You really don't get it? Boy, are you dense." Paul moved even closer to Ash. "I want you," he whispered.

Ash was starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable, especially with the older trainer standing so close to him. "You mean... you like me in that way?" he choked out. The idea of Paul actually being attracted to him seemed crazy, especially after all the times Paul had been so cruel to him.

"So you do get it." Paul raised his hand and rested it against Ash's cheek, caressing it with his thumb.

Ash shivered beneath his touch and flung out his hands, pushing Paul away sharply. "Look... we can be friends, but that's all," he said in a rush. "I'm not interested in anything more than that."

Paul regarded him coolly. "You seem to think that I'm letting you have a choice."

"Huh?" Ash was bewildered by his statement. Was Paul saying he didn't have a choice in the matter? What did that even mean? He could hardly force him to fall in love with him. That was utterly ridiculous. Ash simply wasn't interested in having that kind of relationship with Paul and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, no matter what Paul said or did.

Paul's mouth twitched at the corner and he reached into his pocket. Ash took a nervous step back, wondering what he was up to now. The young trainer had a really bad feeling about this all of a sudden. Could Paul be capable of hurting him? Paul then withdrew his hand and for a moment Ash could see something blue clenched in his fist. Then Paul tossed it directly at him and he was showered in a fine blue dust, along with Pikachu.

"What the...?" In his shock, Ash accidentally inhaled. This blue dust seemed familiar. A drowsy feeling took hold of him and his insides grew cold in horror as he realised what it was. Sleep Powder. His gaze dropped and he saw Pikachu blinking sleepily. "Paul..." He didn't get much further as he dropped to his knees. His entire body felt so heavy and his eyelids were like lead. He struggled to fight the Sleep Powder but it was futile as his eyes slid shut and he slumped to the ground.

x-o-x-o-x

Ash gradually awoke, immediately aware of a foul taste in his mouth. It felt like something was stuffed in there. His eyes fluttered open and he saw only the darkness in front of him. He tried to make a sound but it was muffled. A flutter of panic stirred within his chest as he took in the situation. His arms were fastened together behind his back with what seemed to be duct tape and his legs were the same. The surface beneath him felt soft, like he was lying on a bed.

It was eerily quiet and not even the faintest sound could be heard in the distance. Wherever he was, it was probably in the middle of nowhere. Ash feebly struggled against the bonds and tried to cry out. He struggled to spit out whatever was inside his mouth but it was packed in too tightly. His mouth felt horribly dry.

Ash ceased his moaning a few minutes later. He didn't think anyone was going to hear him. He craned his neck, looking around the room. It was pitch dark and difficult to make anything out. Where was he? Since he couldn't hear anything at all, he probably wasn't somewhere public where other people would be around. Could he be inside one of those cabins that travellers often stayed in? It would make sense. Paul wouldn't be careless enough to leave him somewhere he could be heard and discovered.

Where was he anyway? How come he had tied him up and then left him all alone? None of this made any sense. Ash could scarcely believe Paul had gone so far as to kidnap him. He wondered what he had in store for him and a tremor of fear shook his body. He really didn't know and that scared him.

How long would it take before Brock and Dawn realised that he had been kidnapped though? Probably when Pikachu woke up from the Sleep Powder and went back for them. They would know that something was wrong then. Pikachu wouldn't let him down. Paul was not going to get away with this. Ash relaxed a little at the thought. Surely they would come for him soon.

The minutes slowly trickled past. Ash was growing tired of lying in this dark room, unable to move or do anything. He was developing a raging thirst and would have liked nothing more than a glass of cool water to quench it and wash away the nasty taste. How much longer would he have to be like this? It was odd that Paul would go to the trouble of kidnapping him then leave him alone for such a long time. What could he be doing?

The sound of a door opening cut through the silence, making Ash jump. His pulse started racing as he listened to the footsteps approach. It sounded like there was only one person there. Perhaps it was Paul. His spirits sank at the thought. For a moment, he had allowed himself to think he was going to be rescued.

Another door was opened and light flooded into the room. Ash screwed his eyes up, staring at the rectangle of light. The silhouette standing in the doorway was indeed that of his captor. Paul reached out to flick a switch and the lights in the room came on and Ash had to shut his eyes before he was blinded.

"So you're awake. Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Paul said, closing the door behind him.

Ash opened his eyes a crack, wincing. The light was still too strong for him to open his eyes fully. Paul walked over to him and removed the gag from his mouth. Ash coughed and swallowed furiously, relieved that it was finally out. "Paul, what are you doing?" he asked hoarsely.

Paul reached out for a canteen of water sitting on the bedside table and uncapped it. "You must be thirsty. Drink." He slipped an arm beneath Ash's shoulders and pushed him up, allowing him to comfortably drink from the bottle. Ash noisily gulped at the water, not stopping until the bottle had been drained of half its contents. When he was done, Paul let go of him and set the bottle down.

Ash stared up at his rival with a hard look. "Why are you doing this?"

"I won't take no for an answer." Paul leaned down and crushed his lips against Ash's, bruising them. Ash struggled beneath him, shuddering in disgust. It was reviling to feel Paul's lips on his own. The purple-haired boy stood a few seconds later, watching him with a cold smile. "I will make you mine one way or another."

Ash clenched his teeth. "You're not going to get away with this, Paul. Are you really planning to keep me tied up here forever? Sooner or later someone will turn up."

"Oh, I'm not going to keep you here. I'll untie you later," Paul replied. "However, I don't think you're going to want to run away. Especially considering the circumstances."

Ash's brow furrowed. "Circumstances?"

"Aren't you wondering where your Pikachu is right now?"

The irises of Ash's eyes shrank down to pinpricks and a chill trickled along his spine. He had assumed that Pikachu had been left behind. Looking at Paul's nasty smile, he knew now that he had been very wrong indeed. He should have known there was a reason Paul was gone for so long. "What did you do with Pikachu?" he asked shakily.

Paul softly chuckled. "It's a secret."

Ash clenched his fists. "Tell me where Pikachu is!"

"You really are in no position to order me around," Paul remarked dryly. "I'll just tell you this one thing. If you ever want to see your precious Pikachu alive again, then you had better listen to me."

Ash swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"I want you to stay with me," Paul said. "You will do what I say and you especially won't try to escape or tell anyone what's going on otherwise you'll never see Pikachu again, got it?"

Ash weakly nodded his head, feeling his eyes prickle with tears. He just hoped that wherever Pikachu was, he was safe. How could Paul have done something so despicable? How long would he have to wait before he could see his best friend again?

"Good. I'll release you now. Don't try anything funny," Paul warned. He ripped the duct tape from Ash's limbs, freeing him.

Ash sat up and rubbed his wrists, staring bleakly at the red marks left by the tape. Pikachu was being held hostage. He couldn't do anything about his own situation. The only thing he could do was go along with Paul and hope it wouldn't be long before Paul took mercy on him and told him where Pikachu was. Then again, he didn't think Paul was the merciful type. Would he really ever tell him? Ash shook his head. He was just going to have to hope Paul would eventually do so, even if he didn't quite believe it. After all, what else could he do?

Paul sat down on the end of the bed, looking at him with a cold smile. "We're going to have a nice time together, aren't we, Ash?" He leaned over and reached up to cup his face, kissing him deeply. Ash went rigid, screwing his eyes shut and wishing he was anywhere else right now. Paul broke away and gave him a hard look. "Aren't we?" he asked again, in a harsh voice.

Ash opened his eyes, looking into Paul's own. "Yeah..." he lied.

x-o-x-o-x

Ash awoke the next morning, thinking for a second that everything was fine, until he remembered what had happened the day before and he felt a heavy weight sinking in his chest. He sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, burying his face in his knees.

Why was this happening?

A few minutes later, Paul walked into the room. He was fully dressed. "You're finally up," he observed. "We should get going after breakfast so get ready." With that said, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Ash stared at the door, clenching a fist. He badly wanted to punch Paul in the face and wipe that smirk off his face, but it would be foolish to do so. If he did anything to upset him, he would probably never see Pikachu again and Ash couldn't bear the thought. He was going to have to hang on. Pikachu was counting on him.

Ash got dressed and walked into the kitchen. Paul was at the table, studying a map while spooning cereal into his mouth.

"We'll head to this nearby town," Paul spoke. "It should take about a day's journey provided we don't stop."

Ash silently poured cereal into a bowl and added milk, then set the bowl down on the table with a heavy thud. He took a spoon and sat down, staring at the cereal fiercely as he started eating. He couldn't bring himself to speak to the creep who had taken Pikachu and forced him into this situation, knowing he might say something he would regret later. Paul wouldn't take too kindly to the insults he had going round in his head right now.

"How many badges have you got right now?" Paul asked. "I've already got six of them. At the next gym, I'll get my seventh and then there will be just one more badge to qualify me for the league. I'm sure you must have a few by now, even if you are a pathetic trainer."

Ash drew in a breath and slowly exhaled through his teeth. Paul had a lot of guts to go on insulting him after what he had already done. Was he so confident that he wasn't going to get hit with something?

"But then again, even the gym leaders can't compare to me and they aren't all that great, so of course you would have some badges," Paul continued. "Like that Maylene person... she really was weak. Why is such a weak person a gym leader?"

Ash set the spoon down and rested his arms on the table, looking glumly at the half full bowl. He wasn't feeling terribly hungry. Last night he had barely eaten at dinner too. How could he eat when he didn't even know where Pikachu was or if he was okay? Just what had that creep done with him?

"Can't eat any more cereal?" Paul inquired. Ash shook his head. "Well, don't starve yourself. It's not going to do you any good." He pushed back his chair and stood. "Let's go as soon as we can."

Ash stared at the older trainer's back with a bitter expression. He wondered how long this was going to go on for. Would Paul eventually tell him what he had done with Pikachu? It seemed doubtful. After all, Paul had hidden Pikachu away to force him to stay by his side. The dark-haired boy got up, sighing heavily, and went to get his bag.

x-o-x-o-x

A short while later, the two were walking along the road toward the next city. Ash stared glumly at his feet, his hands jammed into his pockets. He didn't want to be travelling with a creep like Paul. He would much rather be with his own friends, especially Pikachu. Was Pikachu really safe? Ash forced back the lump forming in his throat. He was just going to have to endure this. Maybe sooner or later Paul would get tired of him and let him know what he'd done with Pikachu. At the moment that was Ash's only hope.

"You certainly are quiet," Paul commented. "Well, I suppose it's hardly a surprise considering what I did." He looked over his shoulder at Ash, narrowing his eyes and smirking. "Still, you should make an effort to speak up once in a while. Why don't you say something?"

Ash clenched his fists, feeling his fingernails dig into his palms. His teeth gritted as he looked at Paul. Though Paul had been a jerk on more than one occasion, he hadn't disliked him. He wasn't the kind of person to hate people unless they did unforgivable things like stealing Pokémon on a daily basis. Now that Paul had gone so far as to separate him from his best friend and keep his location secret, he despised him.

"Well? Say something," Paul insisted. "It's boring if you're not going to say anything."

"I hate you," Ash spat out. His entire body started quivering with anger. He didn't even care that Paul expected him to be on his best behaviour. "You bastard. I really hate you!"

Paul turned around to face Ash. He now wore a frosty expression and his eyes were cold as ice. Ash was so startled by the intensity of his fierce gaze that he wasn't prepared for what came next. Paul marched up to him and balled up a fist which he used to punch Ash hard in the gut.

Ash dropped like a stone to the ground, clutching at his stomach. He spluttered and wheezed furiously, struggling to draw in breath. Paul stood over him, watching him with a sadistic smile.

"Remember this," Paul spoke, kneeling before Ash. Ash raised his head and Paul looked into his tear filled brown eyes. "Only I know where Pikachu is right now. You can take off at any time and leave me if you hate me so much but you'll never see Pikachu ever again. If you do want to see him again, then you must stay with me and be a good boy. That means not shouting insults at me. Got it?"

Ash swallowed heavily, forcing back the huge lump in his throat. He could barely bring himself to speak.

Paul reached out and gripped his jaw, squeezing hard and causing Ash to let out a faint whimper. "Do you understand me, Ash? You are going to be on your best behaviour at all times while you're with me, especially if you want to ever be reunited with Pikachu."

"I understand," Ash gasped out.

"Good." Paul let go and stood up. "Then let's keep going."

"Paul..." Ash got to his feet. "Do you really intend to let me see Pikachu again one day?"

"If you behave yourself."

Ash bit down on his bottom lip. He could ask when that would be, but he had a feeling Paul wasn't going to share that information, if ever. He could even be lying about letting him see Pikachu again after all. An icy ball of fear formed itself in his gut. How long could he put up with this? The idea of having to spend days, weeks, or even months with Paul, separated from his best friend, was horrifying.

"Hey." Paul had started walking again but stopped when he realised Ash was not following. "Are you coming or not?"

Ash reached up and wiped away the tears in his eyes. He was going to have to be strong for Pikachu. He was counting on him. No matter what, they would see each other again one day. He couldn't lose hope.

"Yeah, coming," Ash said dully.

x-o-x-o-x

The sun was setting by the time the two made it to the next city.

"Good, we're finally here. I wonder where the Pokémon Center is," Paul said, looking around. "Let's go and look for it."

Ash followed after him, walking along with his hands jammed in his pockets and staring down at his feet. He listened to the hubbub of cheery voices around him, feeling a deep pang in his chest. Would he ever have Pikachu back and be able to travel with his friends again? Was there nothing he could do? Nobody could help him. He was all alone, stuck with some crazy person who had kidnapped his own Pikachu. There had to be something he could do, but what?

"There it is," Paul said suddenly. He started walking toward the building with the familiar red P fixed upon its exterior. Ash was about to follow when he heard a familiar voice calling out his name.

"Ash! There you are!"

Paul turned around, clenching his teeth in frustration as he saw Dawn and Brock come racing up toward Ash. How could they have managed to find them so quickly? He was going to have to think something up fast. Ash wouldn't be stupid enough to tell them what was going on.

"Brock, Dawn." Ash felt a mixture of relief and trepidation. It was great to see his friends again but what if he ended up saying the wrong thing? He didn't want to jeopardise his chances of seeing Pikachu again.

"What's wrong with you?" Dawn exclaimed fiercely. "You just left us waiting there and disappeared. We were so worried about you! We went looking for you and couldn't find you. We thought something had happened."

"I'm sorry." Ash hung his head.

"And Paul's with you?" Dawn noticed the purple haired boy. "Did you two decide to go off together without even telling us? How could you!"

"Dawn, calm down. I'm sure there's a good reason for what's going on," Brock said. "Why don't we go inside and talk about this?"

"Alright," Ash muttered. He walked into the Pokémon Center and sat down in one of the lobby chairs, Brock and Dawn sitting next to him. What was he going to say to them? He really couldn't think of a good lie.

"Okay, so yesterday..." Brock started to speak.

"Hold on." Dawn shot an annoyed look at Paul, who was standing within earshot. "Do you mind going somewhere else?"

"Why? Is this a private conversation?" Paul asked.

"Um, it's okay," Ash mumbled uncomfortably. "He can stay there."

"Actually, I'd rather we spoke alone." Brock was growing suspicious of Paul. It seemed too strange that Paul had been alone with Ash yesterday and now the two of them were apparently travelling together without saying anything about it in the first place.

"Hmph. Fine, I'm going to get a room." Paul walked away, scowling. He just hoped Ash wouldn't dare do anything stupid while he was gone.

"Ash... where's Pikachu?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"Something's going on, isn't it?" Brock frowned. "Paul's behind this, isn't he?"

"No, that's not it!" Ash blurted out. "We really just decided to travel together. I know I should have said something and I was wrong to make you guys worry."

"Paul's not here. You can tell us the truth," Brock insisted. "Does the fact Pikachu's not here have something to do with this?"

"Pikachu was taken by Team Rocket. We've been searching for them but we haven't been able to find them yet," Ash said faintly. "It's the truth. Paul and I are really just travelling with each other now."

"Ash... why are you lying to us?" Dawn whispered. "What did he do?"

No matter what he said, it was clear they weren't going to believe him. Ash sighed heavily and stood up. "Look, I know Paul and I had our differences in the past, but that's all behind us now. Things are different now."

"Even if you wanted to travel together, why couldn't we all go together, huh?" Dawn asked. "Not that I want to travel with that jerk."

"We decided to do it alone, just the two of us." Ash paused, thinking about what to say next. "That's all there is to it. Paul hasn't done anything wrong. I was the one who was in the wrong, not telling you guys. Please forgive me."

"Ash..." Brock looked at him despairingly. "Why are you trying to protect him?"

"Why won't you believe me?" Ash exclaimed. "Is it really so hard to believe that Paul and I are together now? It's the truth and you're just going to have to accept it. Please."

Dawn sighed and shook her head. "I guess you're not going to tell us what's really going on, are you?"

Ash turned away from them. He hated lying to his friends but he had to do it, for Pikachu. "Goodbye," he said simply. "I hope we can see each other again sometime." The young trainer started marching away quickly towards the stairs. He went upstairs and found one of the rooms had the door open. Paul was standing inside the room, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"There you are." Paul looked up as Ash came into the room, closing the door behind himself. "I really didn't expect to see them again so soon. They sure are annoying."

Ash looked away, not saying anything. He badly wanted to leave and hurry back to his friends. Just being in the same room as the creep who had taken Pikachu away made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Paul suddenly stepped forward and seized Ash by his arms. He forcefully slammed hiim against the wall and grabbed his throat with one hand. Ash cried out and clutched at Paul's wrist. His brown eyes grew wide.

Paul tightened the grip and leaned in close. "You didn't say anything to them, did you?" he asked in a harsh voice. Ash writhed about, struggling to pull his hand away.

"N-no..." Ash choked out. "I didn't. I swear."

Paul squeezed harder, closing off his windpipe completely. "You know what will happen if you blab, don't you? You'll never see Pikachu again."

Ash couldn't even speak with his air cut off. His face reddened and his lungs cramped. A burning pain spread through his chest.

Paul released him, throwing him to the floor. Ash retched noisily and clutched at his throat, saliva dripping from his mouth. Paul listened to him wheeze and cough, his mouth twitching in amusement. It was enjoyable to watch him suffer.

"They suspect you did something anyway," Ash gasped out. "I didn't need to say anything. Did you really think it was going to be this easy?"

"Well, it's not like they can do anything about it." Paul sneered. "If anything happens to me, Pikachu's gone forever."

Ash pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees. His body quivered as tears streamed down his face. It was true, nobody could help him. Paul was the one in control.

What could he possibly do?

x-o-x-o-x

The next morning, they set off from the Pokémon Center earlier than usual. Ash looked back over his shoulder at the building as they walked away, feeling a pang of regret. He hated the fact he had to lie to his own friends the day before and now they were leaving without him being able to see them again.

Ash wondered where Pikachu was right now. Was someone even taking care of him? If Pikachu was left alone for too long, surely he would end up starving to death. The thought was much too horrifying. A shiver ran through him. He didn't even really know if Pikachu was alive. Paul could easily be lying about him seeing Pikachu again. Maybe Pikachu was already... No. He couldn't let himself think like that. But what if it was a lie? How could he be sure Paul was telling the truth?

"Paul..." Ash spoke, causing the older trainer to stop walking. "Is Pikachu... is it being cared for? You didn't just leave it to starve, did you?"

Paul made a disgusted noise and turned around. "I'm getting really sick of your harping on about Pikachu. I told you, if you want to see it again, you have to do what I say. Now just forget you ever had one for now, why don't you?" He turned back and started walking again.

Ash felt a stinging at the back of his eyes and swallowed thickly, blinking back the tears. How could he possibly forget? All he could think about was Pikachu. Poor lonely Pikachu, all alone without him. He had to do something. His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed. Maybe there was something he could do.

x-o-x-o-x

It was now afternoon and they had stopped for lunch. Paul was busy preparing sandwiches. Ash was sitting upon a tree stump, gazing stonily at Paul's back. Something had to be done. Paul wasn't going to be getting away with this for much longer. He had a plan, though it was going to be pretty unnerving to carry out. Never before had he ever done something like this but there was no choice. Pikachu was waiting for him. He was doing it to be with him again.

Ash reached into his backpack, quietly rummaging through the contents until he managed to find what it was he was looking for. He gripped the metal handle tightly, resting his thumb on the switch. Ash took a deep breath and got up.

"Hey, Paul?" Ash approached the older trainer.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Paul didn't even look up from what he was doing.

Ash roughly shoved him, knocking him to the ground. Before Paul could manage to get up again, Ash sat down on him and popped out the blade which he positioned over the older boy's throat.

Paul stared up at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked furiously, though there was the faintest quiver in his voice.

Ash gritted his teeth. He pressed the knife down onto the soft flesh. His hand was shaking furiously and he hoped it wasn't going to slip. "I can't take any more of this. Tell me where Pikachu is. Now!"

Paul stared up into his eyes. He could see that Ash really was serious about this and yet he was terrified. It was obvious from the way he was shaking and the beads of sweat forming on his head. "What are you going to do if I don't? Kill me?"

Ash said nothing, he just stared at Paul, breathing heavily. He had to scare him into telling him where Pikachu was. "Maybe I will." His mouth twitched in a smile. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

That certainly seemed true at this point. Paul hadn't been expecting something like this in the least. He could never have foreseen Ash suddenly snapping and holding a knife to his throat. He tried to remain calm, unwilling to show any fear. There was no way this pathetic trainer could kill him, was there? "If you kill me, you'll never know where Pikachu is."

The knife bit down deeper, drawing blood. Paul flinched, his eyes widening further. Blood beaded up from the cut and started to drip.

"Then I don't care," Ash whispered, lifting the knife slightly. "Even if I never know where Pikachu is... at least you'll be dead. That will be enough for me."

"What?" Paul's face turned a few shades paler. "You... you can't be serious..." His entire body was trembling. Ash felt considerable satisfaction. He was scared. This was a good sign. Maybe this was going to work out after all.

"Oh, but I am." Ash smiled wider. "So... you're not going to tell me?"

"Stop this!" Paul gasped out. "You can't do this..."

"All you have to do is tell me where Pikachu is." Ash paused, staring into his eyes. Everything was hanging on this moment. He had to put the fear of death into Paul, to scare him into telling him where Pikachu was. If that failed, he didn't know what he would do. Of course murder was not an option. He couldn't do that. Paul simply had to believe he could. "Well?"

"You're not going to kill me," Paul said weakly. "You couldn't..."

"So you won't tell me? That's a shame. Reggie's going to be so sad when he hears his baby brother is dead." Ash pressed the knife down, steeling himself. His pulse raced furiously and he waited, praying for Paul to finally cave in.

If he didn't, it was all over.

"Stop!" Paul screamed. "I'll tell you!"

Ash lifted the knife again, feeling a burst of relief. The stench of ammonia stung his nostrils and he realised Paul must have relieved himself.

"I left it at a daycare in a nearby town. Birchwood Town," Paul gasped out.

"Thank you for telling me, Paul." Ash got to his feet, stepping away from the shivering boy.

"You... you're crazy." Paul sat up. His expression was a mix of disbelief and horror. "I didn't think you would..."

"Here's a tip. Don't mess with me ever again." Ash backed away from Paul and reached down to lift up his backpack. "If you do, you'll regret it." He turned around and left, returning to the road that would take him back to the city.

x-o-x-o-x

Ash had met Dawn and Brock on the way back to the city. After a lengthy explanation, the three of them had made their way to Birchwood Town. It was a long journey and they didn't make it there until the next day. Now they were at the daycare.

A woman came to the door and Ash told her why he was there. "A Pikachu? Come to think of it, a Pikachu did come here three days ago. It was unconscious in a box and a note had been left with it. Was that yours?"

"Yes, but I wasn't the one who left it there. It's a long story," Ash said. "Can I please see Pikachu now?"

"Sure. It's out back with the other Pokémon. The poor thing's been so depressed and it's barely eaten."

"Poor Pikachu." Dawn frowned. "That Paul's such a creep, doing such a thing."

"It could have been a lot worse," Brock said. "I'm honestly surprised Paul did something so considerate."

Ash raced round to the back where he saw the daycare Pokémon playing. Then there was Pikachu, sitting forlornly all by himself. "Pikachu!"

Pikachu's ears twitched and he looked up, catching sight of Ash. His face lit up in delight and he started running toward him. "PIKAPI!" He leaped up into his trainer's arms and Ash hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Pikachu," Ash whispered, his eyes prickling with joyful tears.


End file.
